The design of problems is as valuable as the design of solutions
"Why should I pay you to educate you about my business" is a response I often hear from potential clients who are exploring ways to improve their business performance. I think the underlying assumption that drives this reaction is the following,
We are the experts of our business and we know the problems we've got to solve, therefore all we need to do is look for solutions and look for consultants or partners who have/can provide solutions
The assumption is that progress is just about finding a new solution
But as John Gardner points out
" Most ailing organizations have developed a functional blindness to their own defects, they are not suffering because they cannot resolve their problems but because they cannot see their problems"
What these clients fail to see is that there is value in understanding the design of their problems. There is value in someone who is an outsider to their business, look at their business and help them with uncovering new problems or that there is value in understanding the underlying structures, beliefs & assumptions that are giving rise to problems or the symptoms of those problems. They fail to see that this lack of understanding of the problem is hindering their progress.
Have you come across this phenomena? How can we help organizations understand that the design of their problems is as valuable as the design of their solutions?
IT End to End Architect proven to internalize large problem space, think holistically and provide end-to-end IT architecture by applying multiple technologies. Passionate to solve LARGE problems.
6 年Yes, that's right all the time to understand 360* view of the problem before nailing down the solution
IT Program/Engineering Management Professional
6 年Great
BCM and Crisis Management Leader, Strategic Advisor, Terra.Do Fellow, Climate Risk and Adaptation, Sustainability and ESG Enthusiast, Life time Student
6 年Actually i think its more important than the design of the solution. Time well spent here reduces the resources needed blind dating for finding the right solutions Analysis and breaking down of the problem thread bare, most often makes one realize that the solution is simpler and easier than percieved. Sometimes within itself.
Senior Engineer at GE Vernova
6 年Indeed. This applies especially to wind industry. One of the major problem I see is the organisational behaviour on communication & handling of communication. If you can design the problems on communication, one can easily get solution out of it. FMEA in the APDP approach to solve engineering problems is one approach I know about identifying potential failures (problems) and then solve them or at least detect them. Your approach to find the failure modes at organisational level is unique. Good to read the abstract. Looking forward for a deeper cut on the subject. Warm rgds